After the Curse
by envy lamperouge
Summary: it’s been a year since the curse has been lifted, and a certain boar finds comfort from an unlikely source.
1. once I think I like him it's all over

**After the Curse**

**By: Envy Lamperouge**

**Summary: it's been a year since the curse has been lifted, and a certain boar finds comfort from an unlikely source. **

**Disclaimer: this goes on out to all chapters of this story, I will not repeat it, ever again.**

**I do not own Fruits Basket, it is owned by Natsuki Takaya. I also do not own any brands, songs, or anything else in the story. I just own the plot. And my computer. So there. **

**-~*Je suis une ligne de démarcation*~-~*avoir peur de moi*~-**

**-July 30- **

It was nearly one o' clock this night. The stars were shining brightly, and there was a pleasant warm breeze through the air.

It was on nights like these when Kagura Sohma sat alone in her apartment, her mind wandering towards her beloved Kyo, memories flooding into her mind; she would start crying at that point. Because he wasn't there. Her _beloved_ Kyo was not within her reach. The male whom she had pined for, for so long was forever out of her reach now. She loved him with all her heart, and though she knew the feeling wasn't reciprocated, she kept trying.

When they were children, yes, it had been out of pity, her love for him, but it had grown so much more since then. There wasn't a day when Kyo wasn't in her thoughts… But he wasn't there anymore. She couldn't just go to his school or to Shigure's house and find him. No. Because he was far away now. He was with… with _her_.

Her _beloved_ Kyo had been gone for nearly a year now, since he graduated from high school… with Tohru…

A bitter pang hit Kagura's heart.

Without a second thought Kagura bolted out of her apartment. She ran, and ran. Ran until her legs were sore, and her lungs were burning, and then ran some more. The pain in her legs and lungs were nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart.

Her eyes blurred with tears, and her heart was hammering in her ears.

She then ran into a man, the force of which, threw her backwards, onto the cold pavement; the concrete scraped her palms, hurt her lower back, and scared the living day lights out of her. The tall man had also fallen backwards, nearly hitting his head of the edge of a park bench.

**-~*Soy una línea divisoria*~-~*tener miedo de mí*~-**

Momiji started walking back to his apartment, after leaving Haru and Rin's house, but it was such a lovely night, so he decided to take a detour through the park to enjoy it. The night reminded him of several others when he would leave his papa's building late at night after helping Tohru clean.

Tohru…

Oh, how his heart ached for his beloved Tohru… he had fallen so hopelessly in love with her after only a few months of knowing her. He wanted so much for her to be happy, to see her smile, and laugh. He wanted _everyone_ he loved to be happy. He treasured his loved one's happiness more than his own, and would do anything to see them smile. You can tell cant you? He gave up his family to keep them happy, after all. Even if Momiji couldn't be the one to make Tohru happy, and even though he wouldn't see her as often as he would like, Momiji still bid Kyo no ill.

The tall blonde male tilted his head upwards, facing the bright twinkling stars, and let his mind wander.

He closed his eyes for only a moment, the sound of Tohru's laughter echoing in his mind.

Then…~

With the force of a ferocious bull- or was it one _really_ depressed boar? - He was knocked backwards, landing flat on his back, his head nearly hitting the corner of the park bench.

The person who had run into him- literally- had fallen back as well and now said

"WHAT THE FU-"

"Oh my god Kagura! I'm so sorry!" Momiji exclaimed, getting to his feet in a second to help the brunette off the ground. He grabbed her hands and pulled her upwards, but as soon as he let go, the girl recoiled and hissed at the pain in her hands. Her palms were scraped and bleeding a bit in places.

Momiji's eyes widened at the sight of the crimson liquid

"Oh, kami-san, I'm so sorry Kagura!" Kagura looked away, trying to wipe away the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes once more

"It's okay, Momiji, it just stings a bit" she said turning around once more with a smile.

Momiji noted that her eyes were red, wet, and bit puffy, as if she had been crying for a while.

"Daijobu desuka? What's wrong Kagura?" Momiji said, tilting her head upwards so that he could get a better look at her face. Kagura figured that he had already seen her red eyes, so she sighed and told him about how she was thinking of Kyo.

Momiji smiled a bittersweet smile.

"I know how you feel" he murmured. Kagura looked down to the ground remembering she wasn't the only one who had given up their love. She tried to tighten her hands into fists, but winced when she put pressure on her hands.

"You should get those cuts cleaned out soon, if not your hands might get infected" the tall German said tugging on the short girls' elbow

"I live close by; do you want to go clean up there?" Kagura looked up at him in slight disbelief. Whenever _Kagura_ got hurt most of her friends shook her off, they figured 'she's strong, something that small won't bother her' but here was her younger cousin offering to have something as minor as a _scrape_ helped.

The genuine worried look on his face was what convinced Kagura he wasn't just being polite. From Kagura's point of sight the light from the light post behind Momiji looked sort of like a makeshift halo.

A slow smile spread on the brunette's lips, and she nodded.

"Hai"

**-~*Ich bin eine Trennlinie*~-~*Angst vor mir sein*~-**

Momiji's apartment was a bit big, but it was comfortably furnished with large couches in the living room and photos hung up everywhere. The photos were of various friends, family, and so forth. There was some of Haru and Rin; others of his school friends. There was even one of Momiji, Haru, and Kagura from when they were children, propped up next to one of the arm chairs. Momiji led his cousin to a bathroom, with a medicine cabinet hidden behind the mirror. Kagura sat on top of the sink counter.

The blonde took out a first aid kit, and proceeded to clean Kagura's palms with disinfecting wipes. The older girl winced a bit, but otherwise stayed still. After Momiji started putting disinfecting cream on her hands Kagura asked

"How do you know so much about first aid?" Momiji smiled and said

"After years of living near Hatori-san, and getting sent to him for scraped knees or elbows almost every other day, you tend to learn a few things" he chuckled, remembering that when he was little he would have so much energy he would just run around until either it was time for lunch of he tripped and scraped his knees or hands and was sent to Hatori to get them better.

Kagura smiled as she watched the ex-rabbit laugh. The past few years had aged him wonderfully. No longer was he the short kid who ran around eating candy all day, here was a young adult, whose looks and charm could probably get him any girl he wanted.

Kagura's silver grey eyes darted to Momiji's warm chocolate brown ones, which were focused on her hands at the moment, applying white squared bandages to keep them cleaned.

"So how have you been Kagi?" The male asked, using a nickname he had for her from when they were kids. Kagura smiled. She didn't think he would have remembered something like that.

"It's been… good" Kagura said wistfully trying to come up with a word to describe all the lonely nights she had spent over the past year, and ultimately failing.

"It doesn't sound like it's been good" Momiji said while putting the first aid kit away.

"Can you always tell when I'm depressed or something?" the ex boar said playfully. Her cousin smiled, and laughed a bit. Momiji's eyes wandered to the clock, which said it was nearly two in the morning.

"It's really late…" Momiji muttered more to himself than Kagura. As if to agree with him Kagura let out a big yawn.

"Kagi, do you want me to take you back to your apartment? It's really dark outside, and I don't want anyone stealing you" the younger male said with a laugh. He was joking about the being stolen part, but with a depressed and sleepy Kagura alone in the streets, a lot of things could happen.

Kagura smiled wearily

"Alright… but can I ask you something?" Momiji raised an eyebrow but agreed

"Why did you help me?" Momiji laughed at the question

"Why _wouldn't_ I help you? You're my friend and I'm the one who made you fall backwards, and I know from personal experience how annoying scrapes and bruises can be, when they're unattended to" he smiled brightly at her.

Remembering that she hadn't been the only one to fall from the crash, Kagura exclaimed

"Momiji, are you okay? I totally forgot that you fell onto your back when I ran into you!" Momiji smiled. He had been ignoring the mild throbbing of his back, because he thought it wasn't that serious

"I'm fine" he told her. But being stubborn as only Kagura is

"Let me check!"

"Huh?" the blonde said in complete confusion. Check _what_?

"Let me see your back and make sure you're not hurt!"

Again

"Huh?!" Kagura jumped off the counter and forced the frightened young male to turn around. She pulled his shirt up, and Momiji yelped from his back being exposed to the cold air.

Kagura's eyes widened a bit. His back had been scraped, more in the shoulder blade area than anywhere else, but the majority of his back was red, like it had been slapped. Which technically it was… by the pavement…

"I'm so sorry Momiji!"

"It's okay Kagura!"

"No it's not!" Kagura said, tears starting to form in her eyes again.

"Kagura~ there's a bigger problem that that!" Momiji said whimpering a bit.

"What!?"

"It's really cold, and I don't have a shirt on" the male said sheepishly.

Kagura paused for a moment.

In her moment of guilt, she had ripped Momiji's shirt completely off.

And awkward silence passed over the room.

Momiji's arms were wrapped around him trying to cover part of his chest.

A dark red blush settled over her face.

"…….. I'm gonna go get another shirt…" the tall male said awkwardly leaving the bathroom, leaving an embarrassed Kagura clutching his torn shirt in her fists.

Doing as only Kagura does, she started picking up all the small pieces of her cousins shirt, quietly, and filled with guilt.

"Err… Kagi?" Kagura's head snapped up to face her handsome cousin, who had changed into baby blue silk pajamas.

"Uh…" she said stupidly. He really was beautiful…

"It's pretty late, and it's already really dark outside, so I was wondering if you wanted to spend the night… I mean… if that's alright with you"

Kagura looked down at the floor.

"Okay…"

"Kagi?" the brunettes' head snapped p to look at Momiji again

"Eh?"

"You don't have to have my shirt in a death grip y'know" he said laughing. Kagura's face turned bright red again, and she immediately dropped the torn remnants of his pinstriped burgundy button up shirt.

"c'mon Kagi-Chan, I'll show you to the bedroom you can stay in" as he led her down a small corridor, Kagura noted that the apartment was large enough to maybe only fit one large bedroom, the living room, a kitchen, and the bathroom.

Momiji led his older cousin to said large bedroom that had a large bed with a soft yellow comforter, and several pillows, and even a stuffed bunny or two

"You can stay in here, if you want" Kagura burst out saying

"But isn't this your room?"

"Don't worry, Kagi-Chan, I'll be on the couch on the living room"

"But, I don't want to impose-"

"It's no problem Kagi-Chan, I don't have over stuffed couches for nothing" Momiji said ruffling Kagura's hair. Said girl pouted, and was about to rebut, but Momiji had left the room already.

'How the hell does he do that…?' Kagura thought to herself. She sat down on the side of the bed, and on the bedside table next to it was a picture of Momiji and another girl, with blonde hair (black roots showing) with the ends of her curly fringe died hot pink, and a one piece hot pink tutu over a white tee-shirt and skinny jeans, with her arms around Momiji and trying to give him a kiss on the cheek, but Momiji was leaning his head away from her, with a playful smile on his lips.

'Is that his girlfriend…?' Kagura didn't know why, but that thought upset her.

But then all of a sudden… she _did_ know why it bothered her.

'I think… I might be starting to like Momiji…'the small acts of kindness, and the obvious sincerity he showed her were enough for it. The small girl's brow furrowed. Because of this she was starting to get jealous of the girl in the picture…

'this is completely illogical… I love Kyo kun!' Kagura's eyes darted to the picture once more, and took in the kind loving look in Momiji's eyes. She found herself wondering what it would be like to have him give that warm look to her. '…I like him…'

_-Caring for someone… isn't based on logic. You can't really rationalize emotions. Once I think "I like him" … it's all over.—Kagura Sohma, Fruits Basket Volume 12 Chapter 69_

**Happy (five days late) Birthday Tyler! I hope you liked it~! Q_Q I really hope you do~ oh and did you see that you're mentioned as the girl in the picture?! ;D you lucky duck~**

**This is my first time making a story in third person point of view so please don't judge harshly.**

**I love the kaguraXmomiji pairing to death. I really do. They deserve someone special. (And they're my favorite characters of the entire manga!)**

**If you have any questions or think it's weird, please tell me in a review~**

**Please~?**

_**Atsuko Sohma**_**: review!**

_**Envy**_**: you still owe me atsuko!**

_**Atsuko**_**: … shut up… and readers! REVIEW!**

**Original finish date: 5/09/10**


	2. when one door closes, another opens

**After the Curse**

**By: Envy Lamperouge**

**Written for: Tyler Wizouski**

**Summary: it's been a year since the curse has been lifted, and a certain boar finds comfort from an unlikely source. **

**Envy Lamperouge: I forgot to mention in the last chapter that **

_**Tyler Wizouski **_**owns Lucy, and for this chapter **_**Atsuko Sohma **_**owns Mary, and I, **_**Envy Lamperouge,**_** own Tori. **

**-~*** **Watashi wa kyōkai-sen gozen*~-~*** **Watashi no obiete iru*~- **

**-July 30- **

Kagura woke up when she heard, or rather, when she _felt_ something vibrating on the bed. It was a very subtle feeling, but it was enough to stir the brunette into waking up. The ex-boar opened her eyes a bit to see Momiji's phone on the side of the bed, the alarm vibrating and the message said '_6:30 wake up!'_

Wait… just hold the fuck up _one _moment. _**Momiji's**_ phone? Kagura sat up dumbfounded.

Sleepily Kagura looked around the room, which was painted a soft, yet vibrant, shade of yellow. The bed was large and soft, with dozens of pillows. She had a stuffed rabbit clutched to her chest.

"nani…?" she muttered to herself. Then the memories from earlier that day, when it was still night, flooded into her head. From thinking about Kyo, to running in the park, and running into Momiji, which ended up getting them both injured. Then going back to his apartment to get her scrape treated, and ending at when she spent the night in her cousin's room.

Kagura looked over to the bedside table to see the picture of Momiji and the other girl facing her once more. Said picture brought back the feelings Kagura had discovered last night.

Groggily Kagura got out of the oversized bed and when she got to the door she noticed another picture nailed onto the wall. This one was of Momiji and another girl who was behind him and seemingly on a platform to be higher than him, this one had shoulder length black hair that was dyed purple at the ends, and she was wearing black cargo Capri's, ad a purple tank top. She looked like she was going to bite Momiji's head, but Momiji looked completely unaware of this, as he just smiled.

'another girl…?' Kagura thought uncomfortably. 'is he a player or something?' the thought made Kagura mad, so tried to ignore it… but being Kagura she stubbornly thought about if Momiji really _was_ a player, and had two girlfriends.

A wave of hot jealousy washed over Kagura's small frame, and she stomped out of the room, only to be confronted by another photo in the hallway.

This one was of Momiji and yet _**another**_girl. This girl had long dark brown hair, cut in layers, with chin length bangs swept off to the side of her face. She was sticking out her tongue at the photographer and was putting bunny ears of Momiji, and had a peace sign up in the air with her other hand. Momiji looked like he was laughing at her, and he had the same pose at her, minus the tongue sticking out.

The petite girl was _furious_ now.

Kagura stomped out of the hall to _**demand**_to know who those girls were.

As soon as Kagura entered the living room, and turned to face the overstuffed beige couch which Momiji was sleeping on, her tense stance softened. Seeing Momiji asleep made her rethink about demanding stuff so early in the morning. His peaceful face reminded her of a child's, after an exhausting day.

She should know what that looks like. She _is_ working with children to become a daycare teacher after all.

Momiji's blonde hair was tousled, and one of his hands was curled up and on his chest, he stirred a bit, shifting the blanket ever so slightly.

"Miji?" she said it softly, almost a whisper, and yet Momiji's eyes fluttered opened and he sat up on the couch.

He was still sleepy, but he would be fully awake in just a moment. But before that moment arrived

"Kagi…?" the blonde said rubbing his eye. A big grin slowly spread over his face, making him look so gorgeous, Kagura felt a blush creep onto her cheeks

"Ohayo Kagi-Chan!" he maintained a warm smile and got off the couch to hug his older cousin

"how do you feel this morning?" a bit flustered, Kagura mumbled

"I'm fine… what about your back?" the last part of her sentence made her feel guilty again, and Momiji must have noticed this because he said

"it's nothing, I can barely feel it at all" following thus he grinned brightly, and Kagura felt her face warm up again.

"oh… that's good" without noticing Momiji had moved his hand to her forehead and said

"are you sure you feel okay? Your face feels warm…"

"no it doesn't!" a red-faced and flustered Kagura said, while slapping his hand away.

"either way, who are the girls in the pictures you have near your room?" Kagura asked, suddenly remembering why she came stomping into the room.

As if to answer her question the door leading into the apartment _slammed_ inwards to reveal all three girls Kagura wanted to know about

"Momiji~! We're here!" they chorused together. Kagura twitched. She turned around quickly half glaring at the girls

"ohayo girls!" Momiji said cheerfully. Kagura felt her heart sink a bit. Apparently she wasn't the only one to get a cheery greeting in the morning.

"Kagi-Chan, I'd like to introduce you to my friends" the tall blonde male said pulling Kagura towards the three girls who now were inside and smiling at her.

To the blonde haired girl with the tutu over a tee-shirt and jeans (today it was a purple tutu)

"this is Lucy"

To the girl with short place hair with an orange tank top

"and this is Mary"

And to the girl with long brown hair and a grey and white striped shirt

"and this is Tori" then pointing to Kagura and talking to the other girls Momiji said

"and this is my friend Kagura" while putting his arm over Kagura's shoulder

"it's nice to meet you Kagura!" they all synchronized again

"they're my" Momiji started but Tori interrupted saying

"maids~"

Kagura stared at them in puzzlement while Momiji chuckled softly

"they're some of my friends from school" the half German finished

"and we come to his house twice a week to clean up him mess of an apartment. So that makes us his maids. So there" the blonde girl said, sticking out her tongue at the end.

"but you were here yesterday…" Momiji muttered to himself

"yeah~ but I forgot my laptop here yesterday and I came to get it back~!" the raven haired girl said, dashing into the kitchen and coming out with a neon purple laptop case already in hand.

"oh! And we're going out for ice cream right now. Wanna go?" Tori asked

"err… I'm not sure…" Momiji stuttered while his gaze flickered to Kagura and back to Tori

"oh c'mon!" Lucy exasperated "you can bring your girlfriend if you want to!"

The cold hands of jealousy gripped Kagura fiercely. 'so he _does_ have a girlfriend'

With cheeks tinged with red, and a stutter in his words Momiji denied such a thing

"s-she's _not_ my girlfriend!" Kagura felt elated at that sentence

"then why did she spend the night?" Mary asked.

I took a moment for it to sink in, but Kagura finally realized that they were talking about _her_. The small brunette felt her heart sink because Momiji had so fiercely denied her being his girlfriend.

Momiji said

"she spent the night because she hurt herself yesterday and I offered to let her stay because it was too late to be outside for such a pretty girl like Kagura. You never know what kind of weirdos there are out there so late at night"

"like you?" all three girls chorused.

"yeah~ what were _you_ doing out so late at night?" Lucy asked

"I was at Haru' place"

"likely story!" Tori said pointing a black French tipped finger at him, accusingly

"it's true!" the male defended himself playfully.

As the conversation continued, Kagura started feeling left out. Because Momiji probably knew these girls better than Kagura, and because they all talked amongst themselves so easily, so naturally, that the talk between Kagura and Momiji seemed strained, and that thought made Kagura even more upset than she already was.

"err… Momiji? I think I'll be leaving now…" Kagura said uncomfortably trying to get past him so that she could leave.

"don't you want to get ice cream with us Kagi-Chan?" Momiji asked, slightly tilting his head over to the side.

_He looks like an over stretched child…_ all three of Momiji's friends thought at the same time

"c'mon Kagura-san! It'll be fun! I promise!" Tori said, linking her arm with Kagura's, and pulling her back to the group.

"no… I really should get going… I promised to meet up with one of my friends today and I should start getting ready…" Kagura lied, trying to come up with an excuse to get out of there.

"oh, that's too bad" Momiji said, part of his smile fading.

"then I guess I'll be seeing you around then, right Kagi-Chan?" he said grinning again.

_Again with the over stretchy-ness…_ the three western girls thought

Kagura felt her spirits rise

"alright then!"

Kagura left the apartment, with a slight bounce in her step, but her mind was full of questions.

Hadn't she been in such love with Kyo less than twelve hours ago?

Why was Momiji being so nice to her?

What exactly were Kagura's feelings for Momiji?

_Why in hell did those girls have to exist?_

Kagura reached her apartment in twenty minutes, looked around, then after a quick shower and cleaning up she decided to go out to find Ritsu. On her way out Kagura noticed that there was a message left on her answering machine.

'_where's my cell phone?_' the brunette vaguely wondered

**-~*tá mé líne tríd*~-~*a diaga orm*~- **

On his way out Momiji went to his bed room and on his bed he noticed that Kagura's cell phone lay discarded on the haphazard sheets.

Momiji paused for a moment thinking of what to do.

"Oi! Momiji! Get your ass out here _**NOW**_! I want my ice cream damn it!" Lucy yelled, poking her head into his room.

"what's wrong, sugar butt?" the bleached blonde asked the ex-rabbit, with a genuine look of sincerity on her face.

"hmm? Oh, nothing. I'm just getting my phone is all" the tall male said, picking up his own phone from the bed.

"let's go get you that ice cream" he said grinning.

**-~*Sono una linea di demarcazione*~-~*avere paura di me*~-**

Kagura searched for a few minutes for her phone, but couldn't find it. she sighed and left her apartment to go to Ritsu's house.

"Ohayo Ritchan!" Kagura yelled out

"oh- ah! Kagura! Please come in… I mean if you don't mind-!"

"don't you go into another panic attack monkey boy." Kagura warned. Ritsu meekly looked away.

"… I'm sorry" he mumbled. Kagura smiled

"so guess what Ritchan!" she exclaimed. Ritsu recoiled a bit and then stammered…

'I'm not sure… i… I'M SOR-" he started before Kagura poked his side.

"I said don't start!"

"sorry…" he mumbled again. Kagura sighed

"well~" and so she told Ritchan about what happened last night

"and this morning right before leaving my apartment I had a message on my answering machine and it turns out I left my phone over at Momiji's place, s now I have a good excuse to go see him again!" she dais dreamily.

"you really got over Kyo in a second?" Ritsu asked timidly as only Ritsu can do.

"… I guess I did" Kagura said amazed at that. Ritsu looked around for a moment before asking

"so now you like Momiji?"

"yes!" Kagura exclaimed giggling like a school girl. Ritsu smiled

'_maybe this time she can have the chance at happiness she deserves'_ he thought.

_-when one door closes, another opens- Alexander Graham_

**I was going to update SOOOO much sooner…. But I was grounded TwT for no reason :0**

**I'm going to try to upload another chapter within another few days to make up for the weeks of absence… **

**Are you happy I mentioned your characters, guys?**

**Atsuko and Tyler: YESH!**__

**Envy: you better be B]**

**Review~ I'll love you forever 8D**

**And thank you for your reviews **_**BabyLuvs2Write **_**and**_** browneyes21 **_

**I really appreciate them :)**

**Original finish date: 5/19/10 (yeah. THAT long ago! Curse you, mom TwT)**


	3. no matter how many times i get hurt

**After the Curse**

**By: Envy Lamperouge**

**Written for: Tyler Wizouski**

**Summary: it's been a year since the curse has been lifted, and a certain boar finds comfort from an unlikely source. **

**-~*ako ay isang naghahati linya*~-~*matakot sa akin*~-**

Kagura walked up the stairs to Momiji's house and knocked on the door, a few hours after she received the call to go pick up her phone.

There was a loud muted thud from inside and a groan. Kagura, fearing the worst for her new crush, rushed into the house.

A bright red blush spread over her face as soon as she saw what was on the floor.

A pain of blue and red plaid boxers lay on the floor.

Another groan sounded throughout the house.

Kagura was embarrassed out of her mind

'_He's with a girl!'_ she yelled in her head.

She was hurt, angry, and embarrassed. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that she was pissed off.

She stomped through the hall to the source of where the groans came from.

She glared into the… laundry room? Kagura was confused.

Momiji was curled up on the floor (fully dressed) next to a set of washer and dryer, clutching his head.

"…Momiji?" she asked timidly. The blonde looked up at the brunette, still holding his head

"Kagi-Chan?" he moved his hand away from his head and winced as soon as he did so

"Are you okay?" Kagura exclaimed, dropping down onto her knees next to the ex-rabbit

Momiji grinned at her.

"Yeah… just gimme a moment…"

"What happened?" Kagura asked. Half chuckling he answered

"when I heard you knock on the door I got scared and hit my head on the cupboard over there" pointing towards the cupboard above the washing machine that was opened to reveal the detergent laying on its side "and then I got even more scared, and fell backwards, and I guess I hit my head against the wall"

Kagura's eyes skimmed over the basket of clothes that was half empty, and forgotten on top of the dryer. The image of his boxers out in the living room flashed back into her mind.

"Your underwear are on the floor outside" Kagura said, not really thinking about what she had just said. Her face turned a bright pink.

The two Sohma's just stared at each other in shock for a moment, before erupting in laughter.

"Oh kami-san, Kagura I'm sorry you had to see that" the tall male said, still laughing a bit.

"It's fine Momiji-kin" the petite girl mumbled, her face still tinged with pink.

"Oh, and to think that I thought you were-" Kagura stopped herself from finishing the sentence, embarrassed by that thought. Momiji tilted his head to the side

"Thought I was what, Kagi-Chan?" Kagura could feel the heat rise up to her face

"Err… nothing! Yeah! Nothing at all~" she said nervously fanning herself with her hand _'it's too warm in here!'_ she thought.

Momiji laughed, and took hold of her hands, palms up

"So how do your hands feel, Kagi-Chan?" it took a moment for Kagura to remember what he was talking about

"Oh! They're fine! … but how's your back doing, Miji-kun?" she asked, worry seeping deep into her words. Momiji's eyes met hers for a moment before looking away abruptly

"It's okay." He smiled at her then, a warm, bright smile that made her insides feel all fuzzy and warm.

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Momiji stood up abruptly.

He held out his hand to Kagura who was still kneeling on the floor.

"C'mon Kagi-Chan. It's rude of me to keep a pretty girl sitting on the floor" Kagura blushed, and her eyes widened at the compliment.

Sure, she'd been complimented before, by several guys. She was a pretty woman.

'_But not beautiful…'_ Kagura thought wistfully.

She was pretty. But she didn't possess the wild exotic beauty that Rin had, or the flowering innocent beauty that Kisa radiated, or even the sweet mother-like beauty that Tohru had. Hell she didn't even have the tough subtle beauty that Akito had!

Kagura smiled bitterly to herself, her eyes looking at the floor

"Is something wrong Kagi-Chan?" her younger cousin asked. The brunette looked up at him, with wide surprised eyes; she had totally forgotten that she was with him.

"Ah! Gomenasai Momiji!" she blurted out. She finally had a chance to spend time with a crush of hers, and there she is _wasting_ it daydreaming!

"Its okay, Kagura. Would you like some tea?" he asked, still smiling at her. She sent a tentative smile back at him and nodded

"Hai" they both walked out of the hall and into the living room

"You can stay here, if you like, while I make the tea, Kagi-Chan" she giggled and nodded her head.

She sat down on the large overstuffed sofa that Momiji had been sleeping on that morning. Remembering that, memories of the photos and girls flooded back into her mind.

Momiji stepped back inside the living room

"So how was your friend, Kagi-Chan?" he asked, sitting on the opposite side of the coffee table on a loveseat, that was overstuffed as well, Kagura noted.

"He was fine" she said smiling, remembering how the morning went with Ritsu, and how she had spilled her guts to him about what had happened.

"He?" Momiji asked curiously. Kagura thought she had only made it up in her head, but she could have _sworn_ that his voice had a jealous edge to it.

"Yeah… I went to go see Ritsu. We had lunch together, and talked about how our weeks went. We usually meet up a few times a week."

"Ah, good ol' Ritsu" Momiji said, a slight chuckle in his voice now. Kagura let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. _'No... Momiji couldn't be jealous… could he?'_ this thought alone was enough to make her light-headed with giddiness.

"So does he still apologize over everything?" Momiji asked, his mind straying to memories of Ritsu and his wild rampages of apologies. He was always apologizing for something insignificant, but his running around usually made the problem worse that it was to begin with.

"He was gonna start off, but I told him that if I did I was going to tell Mitsuru-san that he was breaking his promise~" Kagura laughed at the thought. About a month after Ritsu and Mitsuru started dating, Mitsuru, the kind (slightly crazy) soul that she is, thought it would be best to try and make Ritsu realize that not everything in the world was his fault. So the editor had made the ex-monkey promise that he would stop apologizing to the world.

"When did it get to the point that it got too bad?" Momiji asked, laughing.

"After about an hour when he dropped his chopsticks" the two Sohmas shared a warm laugh.

"So I'm guessing his relationship with Mitsuru-san is doing well?" the half-German asked, while standing and heading towards the kitchen to check on the tea.

"Yep. It really is a miracle that those to hyped up people found each other" Kagura's words hit them both. Even Ritsu had found someone… everyone found someone… except them…

Trying to break the nearly palpable tension, Kagura called out to Momiji

"So how was your date with your girlfriends?" she had tried to make her tone playful, but to her disappointment it still held a resenting edge to it that could only be identified as jealousy. The short girl still didn't like the fact that her crush hung around three flirtatious, outgoing girls. All of which had an obvious attraction to him; they were attracted to him like moths to an open flame.

Kagura could feel the envy bubbling inside of her. It left a sour, metallic taste in her mouth that she could not fully ignore. Envy was her constant companion. It made her sight green with itself whenever she saw any female with the object of her affections.

"it was fun" Momiji said, entering the living room, carrying a tray with the tea and a few pastries, whose rich tantalizing smell made Kagura's mouth water.

Momiji set the tray down on the coffee table closer to Kagura than the other side of the table, but instead of sitting on the loveseat opposite the young woman, Momiji sat down next to her on the couch, and began to pour the tea into a white porcelain Japanese teacup, that had thin, wispy tree branches overflowing with soft pink Sakura petals. The delicate flowers appeared to have been hand painted.

Kagura gazed in awe for a moment, wondering how much patience the artist had exorcized with making the beautiful cups.

"You should have come with us to the ice cream parlor Kagi-Chan" the tall blonde said, continuing his thought. Kagura barely realized that it had only been three or four minutes since he had last stood up.

She laughed, feeling silly at her distracted mind.

"Was it really so fun that you would have liked little old boring me to come along with you?" Momiji surprised her by saying

"You? _Boring_? Impossible! Kagi-Chan could never be boring!" Kagura felt like she had been shocked. Her face was sure to be tinged with a dark pink.

"And you're not old, either!" Kagura laughed lightheartedly. _Kyo_ had never complimented her this much before.

"You don't look a day over eighteen, Kagi-Chan!" the cousin exclaimed brightly. Kagura saw in his eyes that he was speaking honestly. Her heart was hammering in her chest like a hummingbird's wings.

She wanted _so_ much to hug him, and hug him _hard_. She wanted to never let go of him, and to tell him that she loved him.

But no… Kagura was determined to keep a bit of distance for now. She didn't want to be too clingy and overbearing, like she had been with Kyo, and ultimately scare him off… like Kyo.

"You're lying" Kagura said looking away "I'm a decrepit hideous old fart who would only ruin your fun!" she exaggerated.

"No you're not~!" Momiji cajoled.

"Yes I _am_!" Kagura said back

"You're not!"

"I am!" at this point Kagura had turned her entire torso away from him

"Not!" Momiji was leaning close to her. So close she could almost feel his breath on the back of her neck

"Am!"

Momiji grabbed Kagura squarely by the shoulders and made her turn towards him. His grip was firm, yet gentle. He let go of her and took her face in between his hands, and brought it close to his. Kagura stared wide eyed at his boldness.

"_Kagura_." He said deeply. Kagura felt like her heart was going to explode

"You are _not_ old. You're young and you're fun- and you are _definitely_ not hideous. _Far_ from it. You are a very beautiful person, got it?" Kagura was stunned speechless. No one other than her parents had ever called her _beautiful_.

Momiji stared deeply into Kagura's grey eyes and he couldn't help but think that they looked like liquid silver.

The distance between them was so close that if either attempted to move forward then their lips would have met in a kiss.

Kagura knew it.

She could have simply tilted her head forward a half a centimeter, and she's be kissing him.

She was tempted to do so. She wanted so badly to kiss him, and be held in his arms.

But she restrained herself. On sheer impulse she pushed him backwards away from herself and yelled

"No!" Reverting back to her old habits of nearly beating her love to death, she punched him in the stomach, earning an exasperated gasp from her younger cousin.

In shock, she backed away from him with a high pitched squeal.

"Oh kami-san! I'm so, so, _so_ sorry Momiji-kun! Daijobu desuka?"

'_Oh no! Now I've done it! I've probably scared him away and he'll hate me now!'_ she thought frightfully. Tears were starting to prick her eyes, and her throat felt like it as being strangled. At that point she would prefer it if she _was_ being strangled.

She expected him to start yelling at her, to tell her to get out of his life, and plenty of other horrible things, but to her ultimate surprise… he laughed.

She stared wide eyed at him. He was _laughing_! His entire body shook from it, and the sound seem to come in from deep inside.

He was holding his side and tears were in his eyes, but he was no doubt laughing.

"Miji…?" Kagura asked timidly

Momiji ended his laughter almost abruptly with a slight choke. But still with laughter strung in his words

"Gomen, Kagi-Chan. I guess I had just forgotten how strong you could be!" he grinned up at her, his face flushed with a healthy shade of pink, and his eyes shining with his bright emotion.

Kagura stared dumbfounded at him

"So you're not mad at me?" she asked quietly, her brow furrowing. Momiji sat up and with his index finger smoother out the creases on her forehead

"Not at all, Kagi-Chan" he smiled at her, and she looked away

"But I hit you…" her voice quivered slightly while she said that

"It's not like I really care, Kagura" he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She peeked up at him through her lashes.

"Really?"

"Really" Kagura didn't believe him, so she made a promise to herself to never hit him again. But on the other hand

'_You only hit people you really like don't you?' _the blonde male thought to himself, a small smile playing on his lips, and a blush creeping onto his face. _'But do you still love Kyo…?'_ he wondered looking at Kagura, and meeting her gaze. Kagura thought to herself '_does he still like Tohru?_'

He smiled at her _'I don't care. I still really like you'_ they both thought at the same time.

_-No matter how many times I get hurt because of you, I won't leave you. Because even if I have a hundred reasons to leave you, I'll look for that one reason to fight for you—Anonymous._

**Sorry for the long wait! I have no excuse this time… I'm sorry… well I wanted someone else to update a Kagura story before I posted up this one. But no one did. Aww. **

**And I wanted to get at least two reviews. And I did 8D**

**Thank you to **_justxbailey _**and**___I couldn't think of a name_** for your wonderful reviews :D**

**I will love you two forever 8D**

**LoL, I hadn't even started this until a few days ago xD after the first review from **_justxbailey_** I was trying to come up with what I was gonna write… but sadly I came up with **_**nothing**_**! TwT how sad… **

**But then… on Friday… I was doing the laundry… and I saw my dad's boxers on the floor (he was doing the laundry, and I think it fell out of the basket or something) and then the idea came to me :'D **

**So thank you daddy!**

**Oh, and does anyone know what all the dividers have said? They all say the same thing (more or less I hope. I don't know if the translator made them okay…) **

**And to **_I couldn't think of a name_** I **_**was**_** gonna do something with one of the girls doing something like that… but I wanted to establish that Momiji has feelings for Kagura first. And originally it was gonna be short… and then the later part of the chapter was gonna be with the girls… but it got too long… and I wanted to update soon ^^'**

**Hehehe… TwT**

**So please, **_**review!**_** :3 yesh, yesh!**

**I shall loveth thou for ever! XD**

**Original finish date: 7/8/10**


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